Airplanes Startups funded by Y Combinator (YC) 2026

Our planes fly 10 times further than battery electric alternatives, with a lower operating cost than fossil fuel powered aircraft. Our first product is a 15 seat aircraft with a range of 800 km that enters service in 2026 with launch customer Skytrans. Our team has over 85 years of aerospace experience and have developed, flight tested and certified aircraft at Google X, magniX, Heart Aerospace, Ampaire, Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Gulfstream. We have $145M in aircraft LOIs from 7 airlines in the US, Europe and Australia.

Seaflight Technologies has developed a new form of Aerodynamic Flow Control for electrified aircraft that increases range and payload by 30%. That's the same performance improvement you'd get from hopping in a DeLorean to 2035 and coming back with batteries from the future. But it's available today - our tech has been derisked by testing supported by the National Science Foundation, the US Air Force, and the Australian Government. Our first product is a simple fixed-wing large cargo drone that is efficient enough to remove the "green penalty" currently associated with electric aviation. That's a step change from today's conventional platforms. First generation electric aircraft are heavy, expensive, complicated, and limited in terms of range and payload. In the entire history of aviation, that's never been a winning formula. When everyone already has access to the same batteries, materials, and motors, what really makes the difference? The answer is revolutionary aerodynamics, but in a form factor that suits today's operations and manufacturing. Beyond our own drone product line, we have partners across Aerospace helping incorporate our tech into their products. In the future, if you want to have the most efficient and cost-effective flying machine of any description, you'll need Seaflight's Flow Control inside.

Airhart is making airplanes anyone can fly. Our semi-autonomous tech will enable 10x more people to fly their own planes and make flying to Tahoe as easy as driving to the grocery store

Odys Aviation (formerly Craft Aero) builds vertical take-off and landing aircraft for major airlines. We cut travel time in half on the world’s busiest routes by using city helipads and local airports. The company founders are electric propulsion and automotive manufacturing experts who have spent their careers electrifying transportation systems at Virgin Hyperloop, GoogleX, Volvo, and Fisker Automotive. We’ve won two USAF Agility Prime contracts, have pre-orders and options for more than 1,000 aircraft.

At H3X, we are making the lightest, high-power electric propulsion systems in the world to enable a large-scale revolution in aircraft electrification. Our first product is a 250-kW (335 HP) integrated motor drive in an 18 kg package. It combines the electric motor, inverter, and gearbox into a single powerful unit and is the culmination of patent pending innovation in multiple areas.

Our focus is on developing the smallest, fastest heavy lift optionally piloted VTOL aircraft. Our aircraft can be operated in urban environments with no risk of rotor strikes - we don't use rotor systems! Ship anything from downtown LA to downtown San Diego in 20 mins!

Any business - from travel startups to financial enterprises - can build with Duffel. Shop flights and accommodation, purchase extras, manage bookings and more.

Pyka’s goal is to provide society with a new form of safe, clean, and cost-effective transportation enabled by autonomous electric aviation. To get there, we’re taking a different approach than most. We're applying our technologies to every industry where autonomous electric aircraft can be useful, starting with the highest value and most dangerous jobs. In doing so, we're building game-changing products manufactured at scale, while perfecting the safety, reliability, and capabilities of our autonomy engine and electric propulsion systems. We design, develop and manufacture an ecosystem of technologies including proprietary flight control software, avionics, high power density motors, motor controllers, batteries, and custom carbon-fiber composite airframes. Today, we supply autonomous electric aircraft for cargo transport and crop protection to real-world customers across four separate continents and have secured industry-first regulatory approvals from the FAA. Our cargo aircraft enables remote connectivity, enhances express delivery networks, and ensures fast and reliable shipping of critical supplies to areas in need. Our crop protection aircraft offers agricultural services providers and farmers an autonomous tool to make aerial application safer, more precise, and less harmful to surrounding environments. Both vehicles are highly economical to operate, easy to deploy, and significantly reduce C02 emissions in their respective industries. What you work on at Pyka makes people’s lives better now and brings the future of electric aviation one step closer each day.

Wright Electric is building commercial electric airplanes for lower prices, higher safety, and zero emissions. The Wright 1 is a 186 passenger electric plane designed for routes like LA-SF and London-Paris. We work with airlines like easyJet and VivaAerobus.

Talyn is making long-range electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for cargo. We get fixed-wing performance with VTOL capability by making an electric fixed wing aircraft that is caught mid-air with a custom winged drone, enabling it to take-off and land vertically.